Sooners News Daily 7.23.15
Posted on: July 23, 2015
FOOTBALL
Look, I think Bayless is as big a joke as anybody buuuuuuut I gotta give him credit here. He said/asked virtually everything I think anyone who is unhappy with the current state of the program would have wanted to be said/asked. And I wouldn’t have posted this if that weren’t the case, because I would never subject you to Skip Bayless if I don’t have to.
I can’t even describe to you how much I want this to be true.
Sterling Shepard says Lincoln Riley is moving him everywhere in different formations. Even the backfield. I like it, use him like Harvin.
— Carson Cunningham (@KOCOCarson) July 21, 2015
The other 2 times Oklahoma lost 5 games under Bob Stoops, Sooners rebounded to win 12 games the next season pic.twitter.com/v496YNQCni
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 22, 2015
Looks like Trevor Knight and Baker Mayfield have competition they don’t even know about. #sooners #firsttake pic.twitter.com/Ig77wilYNn
— Zach McCrite (@BigEZ) July 22, 2015
#Sooners QB Trevor Knight told me he wouldn't transfer if Baker Mayfield got starting gig. "I love Norman. Love the people I'm around."
— Bonnie Bernstein (@BonnieBernstein) July 22, 2015
Bob Stoops said he’s had “many more than 5 offers” from college/NFL teams; stayed because of OU’s leadership (prez/AD), family & community
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) July 22, 2015
Evidently Holgo is looking to party w/ @OU_CoachStoops https://t.co/B9BydEJCzA #Sooners
— Jordan Esco (@Jordan_Esco) July 22, 2015
Texas used to take the blame for Big 12 infighting. Now, the biggest problem is Oklahoma president David Boren. http://t.co/qp67sN571R
— Sam Mellinger (@mellinger) July 22, 2015
A Mailbag reader suggests the Big 12 should just kick out Kansas & Iowa State. Realignment! http://t.co/MLbHQnmseD
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) July 22, 2015
I polled all 10 Big 12 coaches for their thoughts on if the Big 12 should expand. The results were surprising: http://t.co/z7RPpd7NDH
— David Ubben (@davidubben) July 22, 2015
Will Trevone Boykin and TCU live up to the well-deserved hype? http://t.co/inWDqbgvnY via @CBSSports
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) July 22, 2015
Yikes.
.@beaty_david said Kansas has “60 or 61” scholarship players. “It doesn’t matter how it happened, we're dealing w/it"
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) July 22, 2015
OTHER
Moving on to the quarterfinals! The #USABWU19 team and Gabbi Ortiz beat Argentina in the #FIBAU19. #Sooners pic.twitter.com/P9ZGCj9PhQ
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_WBBall) July 22, 2015
.@justDROB is a @WNBA All-Star for the 3rd year running. Check out numbers that got her there http://t.co/SNSqJaZdAy pic.twitter.com/N8Yk4L9G5F
— San Antonio Stars (@SAStars) July 22, 2015
.@HBO and @BillSimmons announce major new multi-year, multi-platform exclusive agreement: http://t.co/Ur9phVqRPn pic.twitter.com/9DTojIxLWv
— HBO PR (@HBOPR) July 22, 2015
Turrible loss for the U.S. last night.
Asking the tough but honest question about Jurgen Klinsmann's USMNT: http://t.co/n1bae92Ylb via @LeanderAlphabet pic.twitter.com/APbp7vmKGS
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 23, 2015
Caught this on HBO the other day, found myself nodding my head a lot.
91 Comments
Love Bob’s honesty. We stunk it up at the end of last year and he made no bones about it. Time to start a new year and with a new OC and Mike in the pressbox, I’m hoping we follow the trend that we have set each time we lose 5 or more games a season.
My favorite part, when Bob said he’s not going to go back and talk about the Sugar Bowl. Progress.
Was about to post the same thing.
But yet at the Big 12 media day he brought it up at least twice that I heard. Then he rattled off all his teams have accomplished while he was in Norman. That is all well and good but he should know that OU fans love history but don’t want to reside there.
Barry, I can’t blame Stoops for that. If you’ve noticed, the only time he brings up past accomplishments is when reporter reminds him of his failures. Bob doesn’t offer that up unless he believes he’s been backed into a corner.
Sam, you are right about that generally but he started off his Big 12 media presser doing just that. I’m certainly not in the “fire Stoops” camp but I do think that he has been a little unfocused the last few years and would like to see some fire. He appears more defensive than anything.
Oh, I didn’t see that. I hope I didn’t come across as if I was upset with your comment. If so, sorry about that.
I think Stoops’ loyalty got him in trouble. I don’t believe some assistants were as invested as they needed to be. Our issues have been on the offensive side of the ball. You can’t leave the defense out there that much, not in the Big XII.
I mean, the media isn’t being fair. Saban has lost two consecutive Sugar Bowls. When Stoops lost in the Fiesta Bowl, there were Fiesta Bowl jokes galore.
In fact, Saban has done less with more. He is the most disappointing coach. All of those 5* recruits on his roster and he struggles with spread offenses too.
News flash: Bama won’t win it this year either.
You didn’t come across as upset at all. I agree on his loyalty to his assistants. I think he reached the point where he thought the program was on cruise control and he got a little lax. Keeping his brother and Kish on is still puzzling to me but I think the other changes will be good ones.
Loyalty was it, and hubris. He hired Kittle off of zero merits, stuck with Patton too long with the oline, the Martinez hiring was a confusing one (why hire someone who just got fired?) and there are probably a few more I’m not mentioning that hurt this program. Either way, I like the direction of the staff now with the exception of Kish. Keeping Kish may come back to haunt us.
The only one I agree with you on is Kittle. I don’t know where he even came from. Martinez? He came from the SEC and coached an aggressive style of defense. Our DB’s were a joke and I think Stoops was hoping he’d liven things up back there. I can’t even say it wouldn’t have worked either because he was here for all of what? 1 year?
Realize that coach is only pointing out that one year at 8-5 does not characterize this team nor its direction, just as the Bama win didn’t. But many fans and naysayers think 8-5 does.
While I don’t disagree with you, the lack of an out right Big 12 championship in some time shows a bigger trend for the program than a single victory or championships from five years ago.
2012 tied…did what TCU and Baylor did this past year. No shame. 2010 outright as you say. Hence in my mind it has been a two-year draught that’s it.
He kept getting baited and never once bit. I loved this interview
I gotta believe he did the interview with a purpose. Nobody subjects themselves to this kind of cross examination voluntarily. Maybe he’s trying to clean up his image of being cranky with the media. Maybe he knows he needs the media to help with recruiting. Something happen in the off season with Bob IMO.
Lincoln Riley needs to use Shepard on a ton of jet sweeps. That was his favorite play in HS, and he tore people up with it.
How about jet sweeps to Shep and reverse jet sweeps Shep to Westbrook?
(although the point of jet sweeps is speed to the corner, so maybe just normal reverses Shep to Westbrook)
I see that Shep will get 1:1 match ups with LBs. I’m drooling.
I’m not going to subject myself to anything Skip Bayless has to say, nor anyone who believes Stoops has lost his desire or lost his way. There is no need to allow room for distractions. To succeed, in my opinion, you have to focus on your goals. All of that chatter, noise, because that’s what it is, is meant to distract people.
As much as anyone thinks they know the answer, Skip, whether it’s true or not, the only person/people who can make an impact is the person/people involved. The rest of us are spectators. If Bob believed Skip could help, he’d be on the staff.
I’m tired of nay-sayers believing they have the answers. What bothers me is that it appears some people want to see others failed so they can come across as all-knowing.
Before I get off my soapbox, I want to say this, I would despise working next to some people because they are so pessimistic. It would drive me bonkers because I’m not a quitter, I don’t care what the odds are.
I’m waiting for my next Torrance Marshall moment: he called out the ESPN anchors following the 2000 National Championship game.
“I’m tired of nay-sayers believing they have the answers. What bothers me is that it appears some people want to see others fail so they can come across as all-knowing.”
There’s an awful lot of this in the world today.
Yep. All the people that want Bob gone. All the people that call themselves “realists”. All the people who hate hate hate. They all end up saying the same thing, “I hope I’m wrong”. Really. Why? So you can say I told you so IF you’re right and you can save face WHEN you’re wrong
Wish you would just come out and say what you really feel!
Haha. One thing with me is you’ll know how I feel about you. If you’re scum, you’ll know it. If you’re respected like you Sam eastex and several others, I hope you guys know it
We know. Same feeling toward you, sir.
Thank you brother. Great stuff you got going this morning. We prefer to sleep well not eat well is a very good motto
I agree … but is it ok to eat well once in awhile? I’m gettin’ kinda hungry right now!
Oh boy. Here comes eastex in 3…2..1
I got him for EasTex.
In honor of our friend, EasTex, here you go:
Nice. We’ll played. Somebody’s gotta pick up his slack this morning
Yeah, I wonder where he is. Hope his daughter is doing ok.
I asked him yesterday. His reply was that she’s improving.
Keep praying for EasTex and his daughter.
Will do!
I was hungry before; now I’m famished!
What does this do for you?
Ditto Sir!
Here! Here!
This!!
Anybody notice that they listed OSU’s quarterback roster and not OUs on the first take bit….it happens at about 8:40….SMH
and as I read that all I could think was if rudy gets hurt LosuR is in big trouble…. at least with OU if Baker gets hurt just hand the ball to Perine and sir Mix A Lot.
They still have Walsh as a back up he’s not bad.
Sir Mix A Lot….I like that, has it been used? I haven’t been keeping up as well this summer. Hope it sticks. But it’s Sir. 🙂
I haven’t seen it used, it just came to my brain as I was typing that comment.
Noticed that also. Minimum wage intern tasked with doing stats and graphics.
What is even worse is they are not even the correct OSU QB’s for this season.
I never realized Bayless was an OU fan… usually cant stand him and his co-host… but that interview was pretty respectable.
He is. watching him gloat over the Sugar bowl win was weird. sure whether to be happy or sad. Like a confused boner.
a fear boner?
Their show is down right un-watchable, but he’s a pretty good interviewer. He plays the villain well
1. Skip Baseless is an Okie, hard to believe. *Ducks*. I much rather prefer his brother and fellow Sooner Rick Bayless (Dope restaurant in Chicago for all you foodies)…. Or Olivia Munn.
2. You’ve gotta love Linc even when you haven’t watched him coach a full game, you can tell he is legitimate. Been preaching this all along, any coach that understands his weapons and puts them in a position to win, ooooh weee… can we just start playing now?
3. Holgo is good by me. Like the man and the brains
4. Is football here yet?
5. See #5
is it bad that i never realized that skip and rick are brothers ?!?!? *face palm*
Infinite recursion; stack overflow
why does Skip have to be an OU fan? …. gives the rest of us a bad name
I know it’s early, but regular season-wise, what kind of record are people expecting out of OU this year? I think we’ll be better than last year, but we also have some games. @Tenn, UT, @Baylor, TCU, and @OSU. And a few others that could be tough (WVU & KSU).
I’m hoping we get out of the season with two losses, and I’m hoping we’re competitive in those two losses. I think we’ll lose one of the Tenn/UT games. And probably the Baylor game.
I’d be pretty surprised if OU got out of this season with fewer than 2, maybe 3 losses. So regular season record, I’d predict 10-2 or 9-3.
I don’t see OU losing to either Tenn or UT. I think the Vols are a little overrated and UT might be as well even considering they aren’t expected to do much. I think you are right on the money in saying OU will probably lose 2-3. Ultimately most games in the Big XII are losable but anything less than 9 wins would have to be viewed as a disappointment. They will be slight dogs to Tenn (but only because it is on the road) and a little more of a dog to Baylor and TCU. The OSU game is hard to judge for me right now. OSU wasn’t very good last year on defense (and the just lost a starting DT for the season), they had a terrible o-line for most of the season, they have nothing at RB, and a QB that has only played 3 games (although he does look good). If it wasn’t for ONE PLAY, people would be talking about OSU being slightly below K-State and Texas, not in contention for the conference title.
Don’t forget, until Perine got hurt, we were dominating the second half. Probably would’ve won by at least 3 scores imo.
I’m “expecting” a conference Championship and a Bowl win just like every other year.
We’ll see what pans out but my “expectation” is the same year in and year out….BOOM!
National Champs has a nice ring to it
#chasefor8. On our way to 48. :0 Ohh yeah, “Its a great day to be a SOONER!!!!
On the Big XII Conference expansion article, I found this response from a reader pretty interesting….
“Interesting comparison since 2010;
UCF Football Record 47 wins, 19 losses
UCF won 3 conference championships (1 in CUSA, 2 in AAC)
UCF played in 4 bowls and are 3 wins and 1 loss
UCF won 1 BCS Bowl
TCU Football Record 47 wins, 17 losses
TCU won 3 conference championships (2 in MWC, 1 in Big 12)
TCU played in 4 bowls and are 3 wins and 1 loss
TCU won 1 BCS bowl”
And that UCF BCS victory is over Baylor.
UCF and Cincy would be decent adds, if we’re going to entertain expansion. But, like the championship game, I suggest patient observation and evaluation, rather that rash reactionary decisions.
P.S., I think Boren wants to pressure Tejas into giving up the LHN more than anything else. Could be wrong. He does have an agenda. And it will play out over the next few years.
Not particularly a UCF fan, but living in Sarasota makes me selfishly support anything that brings OU to Orlando (UCF) or Tampa (USF).
Hey UCF’s one BCS Bowl win was versus Baylor. A team that presently owns OU. They dominated the Bears.
I’m an OU fan and I want OU to win. I also want OU to win with class and within the rules even when I think the NCAA is a cesspool.
I first met Bob Stoops outside the Switzer Center the first week of his first Spring Practice. He just walked up to me and introduced himself and we talked for about five to ten minutes. I told him that I wanted him to win and get OU back on top and to do it with class and within the rules. Bob Stoops has never disappointed me. He has been everything I want in an OU football coach.
As I watched this video this morning with Bayless it struck me how difficult it must be for a head coach to endure that kind of interview and to have to relive everything that happened to his team last year. Yet, once again, Bob Stoops sit there with a smile on his face and took every punch. He responded with class and never lost his composure. As I watched him, it struck me of the things he didn’t say more than what he did say. Never once did he place the blame anywhere, but on his own shoulders. When he was asked about Frank and Joe I thought of the service he gave to these two kids. He essentially sacrificed his own reputation to give these two kids a second chance at life … a 2nd chance to redeem themselves.
While, I personally disagreed with the decision to bring them back, I do have to admire and give Bob credit for the way he and his bosses handled both of those situations. Bob’s history at OU has been one of giving 2nd chances to a handful of student athletes that found themselves in trouble. His record is pretty good in that regard as I don’t recall a failure with his 2nd chances.
I hope that Bob can turn around the OU football program and get it back on track with winning championships. I want him to do that because I think that his failing to get OU back sets back the good guys in coaching. It gives a leg up to the “win at all costs” crowd. Bob Stoops is to good of a man to leave OU other than a winner. He is a class act and I put him in Bud’s class as one of the greatest OU coaches.
I’ve been really fortunate to have had the chance to be an OU fan from Bud to Bob. No other fan of college football has seen his team win as much as myself.
Roy, good read.
It’s difficult to win and more difficult to do it within the rules. I’m not saying the coaches who are winning are cheating. But there are cheaters out there and they know who they are. I’ve always been a Ken Griffey Jr. fan. I’ve never been in Barry Bond’s corner.
When you look at Griffey’s career, it’s impressive that he finished with 630 HRs. What’s more impressive is that injuries cost him 5 full seasons, when he was in his prime. That’s easily 200 more HRs.
Yet, he did it the right way. I have a friend, who’s parents are lawyers. They are not prosecutors or defense lawyers. They take cases where they believe people have been mistreated. They live in a modest home as they are very selective in the cases they take on. There motto: we prefer to sleep well, not eat well.
last paragraph……..good to hear of such people
Excellent post.
Thank you for that thoughtful post. I really enjoyed reading it.
I’ve been as lucky as you roygbell. I grew up with Bud, then Barry and now Bob. I cherish every moment. The bad and the good. More good, than bad. Looking forward to 2015. Looking forward to kicking some ass. Excellent post BTW. Spot on.
I’m with you in everything you said! Really good post, thanks. Extremely proud and fortunate to be a lifelong Sooner. This is going to be a good year, I just feel it.
Well he certainly treated Bayless with more respect than I’ve seen him treat the local media in press conferences and events. I do respect Bob doing things the right way for sure but I don’t like how he treats the media or the closed door to fans around the program. There are other things I’m aware of the staff does that I don’t like. I will root for the team to win but lets say I’m not a fan any longer of the coaching staff.
Have you seen the way the local media treats him? I wouldn’t respect them either. As for the closed door to fans, while I wish he would open up more, I certainly don’t judge him for not doing so. I’m curious as to why you do?
(In case the text doesn’t convey it very well, I’m not calling you out. I’m genuinely curious).
I agree completely with most of this. The mixon and Shannon stuff though . . .
I don’t think Shannon got a fair shake last year. Full stop. I think his Title IX hearing was a joke and I lost a lot of respect for Boren from that. Simply put, he was punished for college football as a whole, not for what he may (perhaps) or may not (probably) have done.
As for Mixon: I’m 22. I had a great upbringing and I’ve never gotten into trouble. But, looking at the situation Mixon was in, I can very well see myself making the same mistake he did. Yes, he was wrong, and yes, there are consequences no matter how penitent you are. But I see Mixon and notice the similarities between us. Sure, he may want to go to the NFL and I plan on going to med school once I finish my classes up, but we’re both young guys who have worked hard to get to where we are, and I don’t believe he deserves to have both his future and reputation ruined because he messed up when some drunk girl decided to spit on him and call him that racist slur on the morning of his 18th birthday.
Couldn’t have said it better…..great post
Sterling being used as or like “Percy Harvey” would be interesting.
You could use him in the run game, not as a decoy, but as an actual runner. He’s slippery enough and has speed. Perine and Mixon would be the lures.
I can’t help but smile, I think this sort of creativity is what our offense has been lacking… sterling is a stud, …. always ride your stud
Fun, exciting, but risky. Keep Sterling healthy. 🙂
From LT, the new South Endzone:
Here are the most recent box/suite sales and seating chart (as of 6-18).
Come see me in box 49-2. (Only moving there to get on the list for a box in the new West side. Hopefully, they build it soon, as I don’t want to sit in the end zone.)
If I came too see you, wouldn’t be able to leave would want to hang around and soak up some A/C. Usually get the nose bleed seats. Best seats I ever had was when took wife to her first OU game when we blanked little sister 27-0 in “09” we had seats on the 40 yard line 5 rows up. But if the offer is there will try and stop bye to meet SoonerinLondon.
These seats have Loge Club access for AC, of course, but the SW corner will be (according to the studies they’ve shown me) expected to be shaded the entire late afternoon and evening. I wouldn’t move there, from the East Club, if they weren’t.
I don’t like leaving the East Club to pay more for worse seats, but will get the benefit of shade and then have priority rights to a West side box (which is really the end game for me).
The East Club is great, but damn it is blistering in the sun.
Good luck on your West side endeavor.
Thanks. If we don’t get there I’m going back to the East Club. 49-2 will be up for grabs!
I dont know how to feel about Bayless being a long time Oklahoma fan.
Samaje both “faster and stronger”
Im thinking he might get 600 yards on Kansas this year.
So kansas is going to sign like 40+ kids next year? wow, playing 1/4 of a team short is going to suck for them this year.
That is the most I’ve ever seen Bob take responsibility for losses. He usually blames the players. I still think this is a critical year for his future at Oklahoma. I’m not Stoops hater but I’m definitely now a skeptic. Show me that you still have it Bob, don’t remind me of your past success.
It’s not the questions Skippy Balless asks that are annoying. It’s the annoying manner in which he poses them. The guy is simply obnoxious.
Think Skip did a great job in representing OU fan base and pressing concerns and validations for how dissappointmenting the season was, however, I don’t think he represented objective unbiased opinion that all of espn has or should I say e”sec”pn. .. boomer sooner!!
What the hell.. they showed the Oklahoma quarterback list and it was the wrong team
This is a fantastic interview he went straight to the heart…. clearly my vote for the video post of the year… in theory he SAT right there and told Bob Stoops to his face maybe it’s time for you to go WOW… I love Bob Stoops he’s a real Oklahoma sooner and so is Skip